Gareth Anscombe and George North have earned praise from Ospreys head coach Toby Booth after their part in thrashing the Scarlets, 54-36. The Wales pair – who were both on different stages of the comeback road after long periods out injured – helped their side to a victory which keeps alive their Heineken Champions Cup qualification hopes. Anscombe proved he is approaching his best again after two years out with a knee injury, while North played his first match for a year following his own knee problem.
By Harry Corish The famous red bus journey down Westgate Street into the centre of Cardiff is an iconic sight in Welsh rugby. Wales’ male players often say the cheering crowds packed in on match day, as the driver edges his way through to the Principality Stadium, is one of the most uplifting moments they […]
BY Kasey Rees After back-to-back defeats against England and France, Wales boss Ioan Cunningham has made eight personnel changes and two positional switches ahead of final match against Italy on Saturday. Wales have won two and lost two in their Tiktok Women’s Six Nations campaign, but hope to finish on a positive note when they […]
By Rob Carbon Steve Law has labelled Cardiff’s derby with Merthyr tonight as the biggest club game in Wales this season. A bonus point victory for Cardiff at the Arms Park will see them crowned Indigo Group Premiership Champions which seemed inconceivable a few short weeks ago given the 12-point lead Newport held at the […]
The biggest rugby crowd of the season in Wales for a non-international game is likely to gather at the Swansea.Com Stadium on Wednesday evening – and there won’t be a professional player in sight. It’s the BUCS Super Rugby quarter-finalists, Swansea and Cardiff Universities, who go head-to-head in a men’s and women’s double-header in the Welsh Varsity Match – a clash that is live on S4C Clic. There were 13,000 fans at the Principality Stadium for the last edition in 2019 before COVID struck. And it’s expected this season’s gate could be 15,000.
By Rob Carbon Defeats to Grand Slam chasing England and France may have dented Welsh pride, but head coach Ioan Cunningham is still pleased with the progress his side is making in the TikTok Six Nations. Having trailed 33-0 against the French on Friday night, Siwan Lillicrap’s team showed plenty of courage to contain their […]
Tickets for next season’s Six Nations matches to watch Wales in Cardiff will hit £130 for the first time, it has been announced. For Stuart Taylor, it indicates the Welsh Rugby Union has lost touch with financial reality for all but the very richest. Being a Welsh rugby fan has never been for the faint-hearted, such is the undoubted turbulent nature of the game this side of Offa’s Dyke. You only have to look at recent history as a screenshot for evidence of the highly tempestuous state the Welsh rugby team seems to unwittingly get trapped in.
Young gun Will Reed returned from Dragos duty in South Africa to help Newport win the first leg of a potential historic league and cup double this season. The fly-half helped Newport to a 25-21 cup final win over Aberavon in the Indigo Premiership Cup, kicking 15 points off the tee and then securing the final turnover to win the game for the Black and Ambers. Reed was returning from the tour to South Africa where he played in the United Rugby Championship and, despite the Dragons’ poor results in the tournament, youngster Reed was determined to help Newport win the Cup.
Rowan Jenkins will finally make good on a promise to himself at the Principality Stadium this weekend – 12 years after the Aberavon stalwart was denied at the same venue. In 2011, the Wizards reached their first Premiership Cup final in 36 years. When Jenkins missed out on the game, he didn’t know it would be another dozen years before he would get the chance again. The 30-year-old prop is a cult hero at Aberavon and has earned his stripes over the years.
By Gareth James Louis Rees-Zammit is revved up for Gloucester’s trophy treble bid after the brakes were briefly put on his Test career just two months ago. The 21-year-old has responded to being dropped for Wales’ Guinness Six Nations clash against England in February by regaining his international place and starring in Gloucester’s push for […]
Max Nagy admits he takes plenty of stick from fellow Ospreys George North and Stephen Myler, but at least they no longer look down on him. At 6ft 4in, the rangy full back is the same height as North and five inches taller than Myler, his teammates at the region. But prior to re-uniting this season, Nagy was just a small kid seeking autographs at Flanklin’s Gardens when the three of them were last together.
By Harry Corish Robyn Wilkins admits she has felt more than a little jealous of her own Wales teammates as she prepares to face France on Friday night. The Gloucester player – who has been switched from outside-half to centre for the fourth round of the TikTok Women’s Six Nations tournament – is now a […]
Dean Ryan insists the Dragons’ shock 38-27 win away at the Scarlets was just reward for their efforts during a long, barren winless streak. The Dragons’ victory was only their second of the season as they won for their first time at Parc y Scarlets in 14 visits. Tries from Jack Dixon, Taine Basham, Jared Rosser, Taylor Davies and Rhodri Williams – that included an unanswered 17-point blast in the final ten minutes – saw the Men of Gwent sweep to a 38-27 win.
Lloyd Williams insists he and the rest of Cardiff’s players have no problem with the withering criticism delivered by their supporters and admits: They’re right! The Cardiff and Wales scrum-half was part of a line-up lambasted last week by fans’ groups who called for a major clear-out at the club. But a week on from their 49 unanswered points humiliation at home to the Scarlets, Williams believes the club can turn things around at Saracens on Sunday in a European Challenge Cup tie that is live on S4C.
By Paul Jones Former Wales prop Adam Jones has enlisted the expertise of England Manager Gareth Southgate to assist in staging an unlikely comeback in their Heineken Champions Cup tie against Montpellier. Montpellier have a 14-point lead from the first leg and with the aggregate score from the home and away matches deciding who proceeds […]
Dwayne Peel believes the Scarlets can make the United Rugby Championship play-offs after they thrashed Cardiff at the Arms Park. The Scarlets head coach watched his team hammer their rivals 49-15 to move into ninth place in the table on the back of three successive bonus point victories. The top eight qualify for the end of season play-offs and the resurgent Scarlets – the form team in Wales – look well placed after their return to form.
England coach Simon Middleton had words of comfort for Wales after his Red Roses handed out a 10-try thrashing to demolish any hopes of a Welsh Triple Crown. Wales suffered a first defeat of their TikTok Women’s Six Nations campaign when they were beaten 58-5 at Kingsholm in Round Three of the championship. Wales scored one try through Kelsey Jones in the second half, but for the most part it was dominant stuff from the No.1 team in the world in front of a record women’s tournament crowd of 14,689 at Kingsholm.
Lucy Packer could well end up singing both anthems before the England v Wales TikTok Six Nations match kicks-off at Kingsholm today. The 26-year-old Harlequins scrum-half will rightly feel proud about making her first start for the Red Roses as they chase yet another Grand Slam. But she could so easily have been playing in the red of Wales as they chase a first Triple Crown in 13 years.
Richard Hibbard insists the Dragons are capable of a shock win over Gloucester this weekend – but reckons it will need a lot more than that to lift Welsh rugby out of its current malaise. In a match that could be dubbed the “Hibbs derby”, his former region host his previous club in the European Challenge Cup at Rodney Parade. The former Wales and Lions hooker was a firm fan favourite with both sets of fans, whose teams meet on Saturday night in a match that is live on S4C.
By Kasey Rees After two thrilling comeback victories, Wales coach Ioan Cunningham has made five changes to the team to face England in round three of the TikTok women’s Six Nations on Saturday. Wales are currently unbeaten in their campaign so far after coming from behind twice to win their respective matches against Ireland and […]